Gaining Trust
by Kifo Entiegon
Summary: What if Kronos had days away from his annoying and incompetent army? What if he had somehow discovered a way to place fear into the gods without appearing to them personally? And what if he had managed to cause distress at Camp Half-Blood at the same time? Join Jaden Castellan as he tries to fit into a world which his father had tried to destroy. OC story, T for safety. On Hiatus.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys. I know I haven't finished The Cursed Demigod yet. Trust me, that will be finishing soon (as soon as I can get my thoughts out of my head and onto the computer, actually. Curse writers block.) But I had this idea about Luke/Kronos having a kid during the time that Kronos had possessed Luke. I know it's a bit of a shot in the dark, but what can I say. My mind is crazy. The bulk of this story will be in the year 2016, except for the prologue and maybe some flashbacks. **

**Hopefully you enjoy it. And please tell me what you think about it.**

**I do not own anyone or anything from PJO, HOO or Rick Riordan.**

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**Gaining Trust**

_Prologue_

_**20/4/2009 – Lenox Hill Hospital – Maternity Ward – Room 5**_

He looked down at the boy, amazed at how small he was. Even the doctors had said that he was small for his age. But he was long. Just by looking at him you could tell he was going to be a sprinter when he got older. And he looked so much like his father… so much like him… it was hard to believe. It was also hard to believe that he had missed the tiny hands and soft skin of the child the last time he had had a child. The last time he had seen a child of his, he had been chopped to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. But looking at his son without the fear of a prophecy hanging over the boy's head, looking at his blond tuft of hair and his pink skin, he realised he had been missing something. Too bad he couldn't go soft now. Not when he was on the verge of becoming King of Olympus and thus the world.

The boy was in his mother's arms, sleeping soundly despite his rude awakening into the world. She had him wrapped in a blue blanket but his vassal wouldn't let him hold the boy for fear of him being eaten like the last time. He didn't mind. At least he got the distant feel of the boy when his vassal got to hold him.

Presently, he was looking at the mother. She, too, had blonde hair but her eyes were a soft green colour. His vassal had chosen her for some ungodly reason, but he had approved. He had to give the boy something before his end. So he gave him the girl and now the baby. But time was running short and there was an army that needed controlling. They needed to go.

" Luke?" the girl asked, noticing her loved one moving to the door. " What's wrong? Where are you going?"

" Please, Amanda. You must understand. I need to return to work. The boss doesn't know I'm here." Luke replied, turning to face the blonde. He really was a good liar. Must have been because of his father.

" At least help me name him."

" I wish I could, but I really need to go. Just promise me you'll give him my surname."

" I promise."

Amanda then watched Luke walk out of the room with a sigh. She returned her gaze to the baby boy she was holding once the door was once more closed. He was only hours old, but it was clear that he was going to look a lot like his father. But what unsettled her slightly was when he opened his eyes. The large irises weren't a sky blue like she had seen in Luke's eyes, nor were they a green colour like her own. They were an unsettling deep hazel colour with no other colour to contradict it. There was no two ways about it. They were gold. But looking into the boy's eyes, she instantly knew his name.

" Well, my son. I'm going to name you after your father and your grandfather. I'm going to name you Jaden Luke Castellan." She said, seconds before a nurse walked into the room.

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_**20/6/2009 – Amanda's Apartment – 2:30pm**_

It had been two months since Jaden's birth and his mother was just getting ready to place him on the couch to watch some TV while she did her usual housework when there was a knock at the door. Not having expected anyone over until next week, Amanda went to see who was at her door. So it came as a surprise to find Jaden's father, Luke Castellan, standing on the other side of the door.

" May I come in?" He asked, wearily.

" Of Course! You'll have to excuse the mess. I was just about to start cleaning up."

" That's okay. Where's Jaden?"

" Sitting in front of the Tele. That thing is one hell of a babysitter when you need it."

Luke laughed, entering the apartment and going over to his son sitting in front of the Television. He had only been able to see him once a month, twice if he was extra lucky, because of the incompetent fools that were enlisted in his army, but Amanda didn't need to know the full details. All she had to know was that he had a busy job. But he did make sure to steal a few wads of money every now and then so that it didn't seem like he was ignoring his son. He knew what that felt like all too well, and he didn't want that fate for Jaden.

" You look tired. Coffee?" Amanda asked.

" Definitely. You won't believe what they've got me doing at work."

" Oh? Do tell."

" Nah. Just thinking about it gets me worked up. It's that bad I just want to… kill someone."

For a split second, Luke's blue eyes turned to gold, matching the colour of his son's. Jaden sensed the change around him and quickly became restless. His father's change seemed to be the cause of a few things that happened at that instant. First of all, the kettle boiled faster than normal. Then the TV changed the program to something that had been on in the mid to early 90's. Luke didn't recognise the show, but somehow he knew that it had aired on Australian Television. But it did have some kind of weird dragon puppet thing. The third and final thing that happened was that Jaden's eyes glowed a dangerous gold and the baby suddenly found himself able to see the scar on the side of his father's face clearly. One thing was for sure, though. Luke had not been the one to cause these things to happen.

" That's odd." Amanda exclaim from the kitchen.

" What is?" Luke asked, instantly calming the situation and giving Jaden a nearby toy to chew on.

" Nothing, my love. I mustn't have realised that I'd already switched the kettle on. The usual; one coffee, three sugars and no milk?"

" Yes please."

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_**19/8/2009 – Amanda's Apartment – 8:30pm**_

Amanda sat in front of the TV, tears streaming down her face. Jaden was safely tucked up in bed and sleeping; the black dog and red dragon plush toys his father had given him last visit guarding his dreams. The Television was screening the night's family movie, _Titanic,_ but that was not what was making the tears fall. In her hands, she held a soft blue letter; wet from the tears that fell from her cheeks. Stifling her cries, she read it again, praying that it was not true.

_To My Dear Sweet Amanda,_

_I hope you and Jaden are doing well. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for myself. I got in a bit of a jam with the big boss a day or two ago – he figured out what I was doing and what had happened. Now he's banned me from ever seeing you again. But, being me I said that I'd still find a way to see you and Jaden. Things got way out of hand from there. I admit, he threatened to kill me. However, he did give me the decency to speak to you one last time through this letter. So it is that I have to tell you that I can no longer see you. Please, believe me when I say that I really am sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I promise that if I ever get another chance, I'll do it right. I won't let it happen again. But I fear my life is coming to an end. I love you. I really do. And Jaden, too. I'll never forget him, or you. The both of you have made my life bearable and I thank you for that._

_I've given this letter to an acquaintance of mine in the hopes that he never has to send it. However, if he has sent it and you are reading this, please know that I was thinking about you every second that passed without your presence. Tell Jaden how much I loved him, for me. Tell him about me. Never forget to tell him about me. And if he ever does ask why I disappeared from his life and yours, tell him a little white lie and say that I died in an accident. Please don't tell him that I was murdered. I don't want him taking revenge for my death. I truly am sorry it had to end this way. Always know that you meant an awful lot to me. Both you and Jaden._

_But I must ask you of one last request. When you start sending him to school you may need to send him to a special camp. I never thought I'd say this, considering my own past with this camp, but it is the only place that can, hopefully, help him. I wish I could explain more, but I cannot. I'm afraid that the big boss may be proof reading this after it happens. Thank the heavens if he does not. He, at least, owes me that privacy._

_Now I must say my final good-byes. I don't know exactly how to express my deepest sorrows at not being there for either of you. And my love for the two of you cannot even be expressed in words. My last gift to you is a golden caduceus necklace which, I pray, will help protect you. My last gift to Jaden is my dog tag. I know it's not like the usual dog tag, but I assure you it will help protect him. Make sure he always wears it and never loses it. Both are enclosed in the envelope. I love you both so much. I miss you both so much. _

_My deepest love and regrets,_

_Luke._

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**Okay, so if you think it was a little out of character, I would like to let you know that I was trying for a different approach to the Lord of the Titans. Updates may not be as fast as they have been for some of my other stories as I have a lot going on in my world. **

**Anyways, hope you liked. Please review and let me know what you thought.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - **

_The Question_

_**20/4/2016 – Central Park – Balto's Statue**_

Jaden looked up at the famous statue in awe. He had just come home from school and his mother had decided to take him to the park to spend the afternoon enjoying what remained of the spring day. But he had never expected to be going to Central Park for his birthday. And his mother could have sworn that he had swallowed jumping beans at school during his class party (She didn't have the heart to blame it on the snake-shaped banana cake with green icing and yellow M&M's for eyes and down its back for scales).

" That was the dog that helped save your great-grandfather's life." Amanda Atkins said, looking up at the statue with a gleam in her eyes.

" He did?" The seven year old exclaimed excitedly.

" Yes, he did."

" What did he do?"

" Well, when your Great-Grandpa George was ten, he got really sick. The town he lived in, Nome, Alaska, didn't have any medicine and there was no way of getting the medicine to the town through the storms that followed. So they sent out teams of dogs to bring the medicine to Nome. And Balto, here, was the lead dog of the last dog-sled team. He got the medicine through the last part of the run and safely to Nome so that the sick could get well again."

" Is that why there is a bunch of words on the rock?"

" They're not just a bunch of words, Jaden. It's a memorial."

" What's a memorial?"

" Something to help us remember what's happened in the past."

The sandy haired boy looked from the dog statue's smiling face down to the large plaque embedded into the very stone the dog stood on. the engraved words seemed to move around the stone, causing him to close his eyes and shake his head before trying to focus on them again. But he seemed to take more interest in the dog-sled team that was coursing through the stone snow. For a second, as he looked at the dogs, he thought he could actually see the team running through a snow covered landscape to save people's lives. But the image was gone as quickly as it had come.

" Balto." He whispered to himself, running his fingers over the lead dog. " What does it say, Mummy?"

" It says '_Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the winter of 1925. Endurance. Fidelity. Intelligence._'" His mother answered.

" What does it mean?"

" Well, It means that the dogs had unbeatable spirits and worked hard to make sure that the medicine got to Nome in time. and they proved they could do it by running through dangerous storms that no man should have been able to go through without getting lost."

" They must have been very brave."

" They were. They were very brave."

With a silent prayer of thanks to the iconic hero, Amanda began to lead her son away and towards the reservoir. Her parents were waiting for them over by Harlem Meer with the rest of their family so that they could have a birthday picnic with the seven year old. The only problem was getting him there in his hyperactive and over-excited state. And the fact that he had ADHD wasn't helping things at all.

If a squirrel raced across the path in front of him, the boy would get excited. If he saw a red-tailed hawk, he got excited. It was beginning to drive his mother insane, if she wasn't already. But she was able to deal with him. In no time flat, the two had made it to the other side of the reservoir and was making their way to where the family was when Jaden stopped suddenly in front of a particularly large tree on the edge of the reservoir.

Jaden traced his hand over the rough bark of the maple tree, almost like he was trying to smooth out the faint wrinkles in it. But what his mother couldn't see was that etched underneath his fingers was a pattern that looked oddly like Greek lettering. '_Εδώ βρίσκεται ο Τιτάνας Υπερίων'. _As he watched, the words on the tree blurred and rearranged themselves into something that he was surprised to find he could understand. He didn't know how, but Jaden Luke Castellan was able to interpret the Greek words to mean '_Here lies the Titan Hyperion'._ And he shuddered to think what it could mean. But just as he looked up into the tree's branches, his eyes began to glow gold.

_Around him, a battle was raging. In front of him, there was a mini hurricane blowing dangerously around some kid with black hair and heading towards a really tall man with golden armour on. And his golden, fiery eyes made Jaden wonder if there was some sort of connection between him and the big man. Then another boy appeared to Jaden, only he wasn't completely a boy. His legs were furry and he had hooves. Jaden didn't know what this boy was, but he also felt a connection to it. He just hoped that no one would notice him._

" _Percy! Bring him over here!" the weird boy called to the hurricane._

_Jaden thought that the animal boy was weird. He also thought that the responding hurricane named Percy was weird, too. But nothing could have beaten seeing the big golden man getting turned into a tree. That would have to have been one of the weirdest things he had ever seen. One of the scariest, too. It taught him to fear the animal men… especially when they held reed pipes in their hands. _

_He was thankful when his mother called him from his vision. But the sight of that particular animal sparked something inside of him, a different kind of memory than what he had just experienced. One from his very early days when he was still sitting in front of the Television because his mother could think of no other baby sitter better than Mickey Mouse. One of blue eyes and a massive scar on someone's face._

" Jaden? Is everything okay?" his mother called to him gently.

" Mummy? What happened to Daddy?" the boy asked, turning away from the tree.

" He… he had to go somewhere."

" Where did he go?"

" Some place special."

" Can we go see him?"

" No, sweetie. We can't go see him."

" Why not?"

" Because we're not ready to see him."

" Why aren't we?"

" Because… Daddy had an accident that made him go to sleep and no one could wake him up again."

" Oh." Amanda was surprised her son had understood. " Was he brave? Like Balto?"

" You know what, Jaden? I think he was very brave. Now, come on. Nanny and Poppy are waiting to see their little birthday boy."

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**_2/5/2016 – Harvard's School for Gifted Children – 9:30am_**

Jaden walked down the hall almost begging the day had finished. To his luck, it had only just begun. And he had already suffered that morning. The school bullies, Timothy McHales and his two friends Hayden Bennett and Brendon Stevenson, had decided that he would be the first person on their list to get bullied that morning. The result was that the pudgy boy pegged his soccer ball at Jaden's head. And, though the ball had got him square in the face and given him both a black eye and a broken nose, the lithe and agile boy just ignored it.

" Hey, Pussy!" Timothy had called when he noticed Jaden gave him no response. " What's the matter? Mummy too poor to wash you? Give me the ball!"

Now Jaden didn't mind being pushed over the way Timothy usually had planned. He'd just wait for the perfect opportunity to get back at him. Or he'd just steal something off the kid that he knew had never belonged to him in the first place. That usually won him favours with the other kids. He looked out for them; taking a beating from Timothy so that they didn't get hurt. And when they were in trouble with Timothy, he was usually the first to get in there and stop the fight.

But there was one thing Jaden didn't take a liking to and that was his mother being pulled into his fights or bullied. Especially by someone like Timothy McHales.

" You leave my mum out of this!" Jaden had angrily called back from where he still lay on the ground from the force of the ball on his face.

" Just give me the ball and no one gets hurt."

" Nice threat coming from you! We're seven!"

" What are you talking about?"

To be honest, Jaden didn't know himself. All he knew was that the look on his face must have been something to get Timothy back into his usually teasing self. Almost instantly the boy had stormed over to him and, with as much force as he could muster, thrust his foot into Jaden's stomach. Then he picked up the soccer ball and walked back over to his friends, leaving Jaden to glare at his back, still on the ground when the soccer ball had first hit him.

" Why don't you get your creepiness away from me, you freak?"

And that was when Timothy threw the ball at Jaden again. Jaden, though, was now beyond furious. He had had enough with the boy and bringing his mother into it was just taking things too far. As the ball flew towards him, Jaden's eyes began to glow gold. Instantly, the ball stopped in its tracks mere centimetres away from his face. To say Timothy and his friends were scared was an understatement. They were petrified. Brandon had actually wet himself, he was that scared. With a wiry smile that his mother said he got from his father, Jaden sent the ball back at its owner… right in front of the Vice Principal.

So that was how Jaden found himself walking down the hallway towards the Vice Principal's office even before school had started. He had begged to go to the nurse's office first (he wasn't one for tears, but if he knew he needed to go there, he went) but the Vice Principal had said that he could go after she had had a talk with him. And following close behind him were the exclamations of teachers and students alike. It seems that no one could understand why such a nice boy was bleeding so badly and being sent to the Vice Principal's office. The only thing they could think of was that he had gotten into a fight.

" Now I want to know exactly what happened, Jaden. Why did you throw that ball at Timothy McHales?" The Vice Principal asked in the kindest, yet sternest voice she had as she sat him down in her office.

" Timothy was being mean to my mum." Jaden replied.

" So you threw a ball at him?"

" He threw it at me and hit me in the face. Then he threw it at me again. I stopped it and threw it back at him because he was bullying my mum."

" Jaden. We do not through balls at anyone. Even if they threw the ball first."

" Then why isn't he here?"

" I will be saying something to him, too, Jaden."

With a growl, the boy turned his face to the window. The vice-principal was talking to him again, but he wasn't listening. He usually drowned out the more important facts when it came to things like this. He couldn't help it. Nanny always said that his mind was special because it saw things that other people's minds couldn't. Then again, Nanny was slowly getting very sick and that was making her memories go a little fuzzy. That's what his mother told him. He didn't know which of the two women to believe. But at that moment, as he watched the clouds rolling by ever so slowly, he chose to believe his grandmother.

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**Hope you liked. Tell me what you think. Please review.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - **

_The Awakening_

_**2/5/2016 – Harvard's School for Gifted Children – Vice Principal Mrs A. Parsons Office - 9:45am**_

Outside, there was a flock of eagles. That in itself was out of the ordinary, but what really caught Jaden's attention was that these eagles were massive. They had to be at least five times the size of the eagles he had seen in the park and the zoo. And next to that, there were people riding on the backs of those eagles. Jaden couldn't see them that clearly, but there were at least two people to every eagle. That's how big those eagles were.

But what was even weirder was the guy riding a cloud. Jaden was sure that it was impossible to ride a cloud. But there was guy calmly making his way across the Manhattan sky riding a cloud. That was something you definitely didn't see every day. Thinking he was slowly becoming sick like Nanny, Jaden rubbed his eyes. When he looked back, the eagles were still there. And so was the cloud riding boy. The only difference was that the cloud was now in the shape of a horse. When Jaden turned to the Vice Principal, still unconvinced about what he was seeing, he found that he was the only one who saw the strange flyers.

That was when he decided to believe what his grandmother had told him.

" Jaden Castellan. Focus." The Vice Principal's voice called, pulling the boy from his thoughts.

" Sorry, Mrs Parsons." Jaden replied quietly, returning his attention to the old lady.

" For what you did, Jaden, I'm giving you a week's worth of detention. I cannot ignore the fact that you threw a ball at another student; no matter how much you dislike him. I will also be talking to your mother about this."

" But, Mrs Parsons…"

" That's enough. I'll see you back here at lunch time. Now off you go to the nurse."

With that, Mrs Parsons stood up and led Jaden to her door. Jaden looked up at her, looked into her wrinkled, blue eyes, and instantly knew that no amount of begging was going to help him in this situation. His mother claimed he was much like his father, but he had a feeling that his father could get out of a lot of situations that included detention. Him? Not so much. Maybe he would grow into something like that… or maybe he just wasn't that lucky.

Whatever the case, he lowered his head and began the walk towards the nurse's office down the hall. On the way, he was tripped up by Timothy. The pudgy boy was sitting on the floor, waiting to see Mrs Parsons. Beside him where his two goons. What was funny, though, was that Hayden and Brendon were both taller than Timothy… and they were also sitting down. But Jaden knew that this wasn't the first time that Timothy, at the very least, had been sent to the Vice Principal's office. If there was such thing as luck at all, Jaden was willing to bet his favourite dog and dragon plush toys that he would not be seeing Timothy for a long time after this. So, with a smirk, he righted himself and continued on his way to the nurse's office.

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_**20/6/2016 – Nanny and Poppy's house – East Hampton **_

Jaden was standing on the back porch of his grandparent's house, looking out over the distant horizon while twirling the bronze dog tag that hung around his neck in his fingers. He should have been happy. It was the first day of the school holidays. But his mother and grandfather were both upset, making him upset. And they had dressed him in black too, because they were going to a church and then to the cemetery. The reason; Nanny had gone to that special place that his father was in… probably telling him off about leaving her daughter and grandson alone and in danger, if people knew her.

They had just gotten back from the cemetery and Nanny's friends and family were with them. They were all inside, though, talking and remembering. But he didn't want to hear any of it. He just wanted to get away from it all. And going outside was the only way he could. At least he had his grandfather's Doberman to keep him company. The old dog was sitting beside him, watching him twirl the dog tag in his fingers.

" I should be happy, right Digger?" He asked the dog, even though he was sure the dog couldn't answer him.

As he expected, the dog merely tilted his head and gave a short whimper.

" I want to see Nanny again."

At this, the dog lowered himself to the ground and laid his head on his paws. Jaden took that as a sign that Digger also wanted to see Nanny again and knelt down, letting the dog tag fall back onto his chest. Quietly, he stroked the dog's head and listened to the sad thumping of his tail against the wooden porch. But that was when he noticed the other dog that was sitting by the back fence and watching him intently. The strange thing about this dog, though, was that its bright red eyes and shaggy black coat made it look a little evil. He wouldn't have been surprised if it was what his grandfather called a devil dog.

" Get out of here!" He called over to the strange dog… and surprisingly it obeyed, literally disappearing into the shadows.

" Jaden? What's wrong?" The sound of his grandfather's voice at the door brought the boy to his feet.

" Nothing, Poppy."

" Don't you lie to your old Poppy, now, Jaden."

" There was another dog by the fence. I scared him off, for you."

Poppy smiled down at his grandson and patted his shoulder affectionately. " You trying to teach old Digger how to scare away unwanted guests, eh?"

" Yeah!" The blonde haired boy exclaimed, jumping on the genuine smile his grandfather was giving him.

For the first time that day, Jaden heard his grandfather laugh. And what was more, it wasn't forced. It made him feel like he had accomplished something. He wasn't sure exactly what, but he knew he had done something special for his grandfather. Once Poppy's laugh had settled down, the old man knelt down in front of both boy and dog.

" I think old Digger can learn a thing or two off you, boy. Now, come inside. It's getting late and you need to come and have tea."

With a huff, Poppy rose to his feet once more and went inside. Jaden, on the other hand, was hesitant at re-entering the house. It wasn't because he didn't really want to go back inside, what with all the people that he swore did not trust him. It was more because as he was looking in the direction of the setting sun, he noticed a flying car. To describe it, all Jaden could think of was that it was bright, red and fast. And that there was a driver who he swore was looking at him in confusion. But he couldn't see the guy's face, so he wasn't so sure. All he knew was that Digger had suddenly gotten to his feet and started barking at the flying car.

" Sit DOWN, Digger!" Poppy's voice called from inside the house.

" Jaden, come on!" Jaden's mother called a few minutes later.

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**Hope this was okay. Please read and review. It makes me feel like this is worthless without the views and reviews.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

**_The Accident_**

_**23/6/2016 – Poppy's House – East Hampton**_

" Say good-bye to Poppy, Jaden. It's time to go." Amanda called from the bottom of the stairs to her father's second story floor.

Jaden was busy playing with the set of dinosaurs that his grandfather kept in the spare room up there when he heard his mother's call. He had spent the past week at his grandfather's place to try and help him through the bad time with Nanny. And ever since that night after Nanny's wooden bed was placed in the cemetery, Digger would not stop barking at the sun. Nor did his mother and grandfather believe him when he told them that the dog was barking at the man driving the flying car through the sun.

In fact, when the boy next door, Joey, asked why the dog was barking so much, and Jaden had given him the same answer that he gave the adults, Joey just looked at him like he was strange and went back inside. That was when Jaden had decided that playing indoors, away from the devil dogs that appeared every night and the flying car man, was a much safer option. At least the dinosaurs and the toy soldiers that he played with understood him. Even if he did make them fight with toy animals and cars in a three-way battle against the Ben 10 aliens.

" Okay, mum!" Jaden called back.

He hurried to place the toys back in the toy box, making sure to keep his 'commander' Buzz Lightyear action figure away from the rest of the armies. Buzz was the one thing (aside from George the black dog plushie and Peter the red dragon plushie) that he always made sure he had with him when going to Poppy's house. He didn't know why, though. It may have been because it was Nanny who had brought him the Buzz Lightyear action figure. All he knew was that, as he climbed down the stairs with his toys in his hand, something didn't feel right.

Poppy was outside in the front yard talking with his mother, Digger trotting from the side of the house to the fence and back in the hopes that he would be let out. When Jaden came running out of the house, the dog instantly began whimpering. Somehow Jaden knew that the dog was also sensing that something wasn't right. But the adults seemed immune to the feeling, Poppy merely silencing the dog with a stern word.

" You ready to go, Jay?" Jaden's mother asked when she saw her son.

" Yeah." Jaden replied quietly, watching Digger curiously.

" You got Peter?"

" Yeah."

" What about George?"

" Yeah."

" Have you got Buzz?"

" Yeah."

" Have you got yourself?" Poppy asked.

" Poppy!" Jaden called, the hint of a smile on his lips as he turned away from the dog to look at his grandfather.

" Just making sure."

With a quick pat on the head, Poppy led Jaden to the car and made sure he was 'buckled up tight'. Then the old man closed the door and turned to his daughter. Jaden watched their goodbye through the window, the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach worsening at the sight. He knew for sure that something bad was going to happen to at least one of them, both if he was extremely unlucky. As his mother got into the car, he found himself praying that his 'school luck' would not affect him now.

* * *

They were taking a detour when it happened.

Jaden hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings. All he knew was that the car ride was always boring, so he always thought of things to do. Things that didn't include looking out of the window. He probably should have been paying attention, though. It would have helped him understand what happened. Unfortunately, he didn't. Instead, he sat playing around with his dog tag, still trying to figure it out.

The bronze metal was cold and heavy in his small hands. If he tilted it on the right angle, the light would bounce off it and shine on the roof of the car away from the sun. That was pretty fun, trying to draw light images by shining his dog tag… until he noticed the image that was imprinted onto one side of the smooth surface. It was a sword; there was no two ways about it. And it seemed to be inked in with something black.

Staring at it, Jaden was almost sure that the bad feeling that was hanging over him was getting stronger. Slowly, he traced the simple design of the weapon. He couldn't understand how it had got there. A couple of nights ago, it hadn't been there. It was just a blank sheet of ever shiny bronze. Now there was the image of a sword.

Slowly he turned the dog tag around, wondering if it was just his imagination. After the first three turns, he found out that it wasn't. Come the fourth, there were letters on the back surface. Letters, Jaden was pretty sure, that were exactly like the ones he had found etched into the maple tree in Central Park on his birthday. _Ερινυζ. _A shiver ran down the boy's spine as he fingered the tiny etchings, the bad feeling in his stomach worsening as each second grew longer. But he couldn't stop himself from muttering the word fast enough.

" _Erinyz._" He whispered.

Instantly, the sword on the other side of the dog tag began to glow. From the driver's seat, his mother asked him something… but he was too intrigued by the light and the word etched into the brass plate to even hear her. Quickly, the light became too bright for his sensitive eyes to handle and he was forced to close his eyes. He didn't notice the feel of the car as it began to swerve to the side slightly. Nor did he notice the drops of rain that were beginning to fall.

When the light faded, Jaden found himself holding a pure bronze double-edged sword. The grip was made out of some sort of leather that felt comfortable in his hand. The pommel was home to a perfectly round stone that looked like it was made of pure amber. Inside that was a black shape that looked strangely like a scythe. Jaden didn't have time to wonder what that meant when he was suddenly thrown forward and everything around him turned pitch black.

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**Hope you people like. Please tell me what you think.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Finally. Here's chapter 4. Hope you enjoy. I don't own anyone or anything that you recognise as part of the PJO/HOO series.**

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**Chapter 4:**

_**The Beginning**_

" How is that possible?" A male voice broke through the darkness and instantly caused Jaden's eyes to snap open.

Looking around, Jaden noticed that he was in a dark room with barely any light. The only light that could be seen was from behind the door where someone in a wheelchair sat obviously talking with someone else. In the dim light, he was able to make out the two shapes on the table next to his bed. Hopefully they were George and Peter. And his dog tag was still around his neck. He wasn't sure what to think about that now that he was sure that it had become a sword, but it was a familiarity to him in that strange place. But one thing was true. Little Jaden Luke Castellan was scared.

" Mum?" Jaden called out weakly, tears springing into his eyes and voice.

The talking stopped for a few seconds. Whoever was outside probably thought that they had just misheard something because once they were sure that everything was quiet, they went back to talking. The darkness began to press around the seven year old and he couldn't help the soft whimper that escaped his lips. Blindly, he reached out to the shapes that were on the table and managed to grab both of his soft toys by their necks. He stopped strangling them as soon as they were safely against his own neck and head. But he had alerted whoever was beyond the door when he knocked over and broke a glass as he went to snuggle into his toys.

" Mummy?" He called once more, this time a little louder, as the tears began their treks down his face.

Slowly, the door opened and light flooded into the room as a man with brown hair wheeled in in his wheelchair. Following closely behind him was a boy at least twice as old as Jaden, the light catching on his hair and turning it a brighter gold. But there was no sign of Jaden's mother following behind the two. The thought that something had happened to her made the seven year old grip his toys even tighter and his tears speed their way down his cheeks. He had known that something bad was going to happen when he left Poppy's place. He just wished that it didn't have to happen to his family.

" Where's my mum?" He asked weakly as the man wheeled his chair to the side of the bed.

" She got hurt, Son." The man replied after a few minutes of thinking. " Now drink some of this and get some sleep. It's late and you need your rest."

" I want to see my mum."

" She's not here. She had to go to another hospital."

Jaden didn't understand. His eyes stung with both pain and tears and his entire body hurt. He was in a strange place with strange people. How could he trust them? George and Peter were the only things he had… but they couldn't tell him that everything was going to be okay. They couldn't take away the hurt that was inside of him. He needed human hands and voice to reassure him of that. And only one person knew how to do just that. Jaden needed his mother.

" Mummy!" He called out desperately, ignoring the boy and the man.

Mummy didn't come. And the rest of the tears finally spilled over Jaden's eyes. The boy at the end of the bed sent a worried look to the man in the wheelchair, but the man merely sighed. He had seen many things in his long life, some of the arrivals even more gruesome than this one. But it was arrivals like this one that were the most heart-wrenching of all. Why, just over a decade ago he had witnessed the arrival of a great hero shortly after his mother had disappeared, thought to be dead. Only, that boy was five years older than Jaden. And this little boy, this seven year old, was never going to see his mother again.

" That's enough, now." The man said as softly as he could. " Drink this and get some sleep."

" No! I want my mum!" Jaden screamed.

At the sudden outburst, Jaden's eyes began to glow gold. A few seconds later, all the tiny fragments from the broken glass flew into the air and resealed themselves to the main body of the glass, each fragment following the exact same path it had taken when it had shattered. Even the newly formed glass righted and filled itself with water. Once the last drop of spilled liquid was safely back in its container, the golden glow of Jaden's eyes died down. Within a matter of seconds, Jaden had collapsed out of sheer exhaustion.

" Uh, Chiron... what just happened?" the older boy asked as he hurried to get Jaden back under the covers.

" You are not to speak to anyone of what you have just witnessed, is that clear, Mr Rodgers?" the man in the wheelchair replied, a slight hint of fear in his voice.

" Yes, Sir."

" Also, you are the only one to tend to the boy."

" Yes, Chiron."

" Good night, Gary."

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When next Jaden woke, it was day. The same blond haired boy from the night before was tending to him, making some sort of drink for him. In the daylight, things seemed less scarier. They seemed less dangerous. But Jaden couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened to his mother. It was that same feeling from when he had left Poppy's house. And he was almost certain that it was following him. Not to mention he still remembered being refused a visit from his mother when he needed her the most the night before. Quietly he began to slip out of bed to go see for himself where his mother was.

" So you're up." The older boy said, still not turning around.

Jaden froze. He hadn't expected to be discovered this early in his escape. Usually people didn't notice he was gone until he was… well… gone. This boy was the first person he knew to stop him in his escape.

" I've had practice." The boy explained. " We have a whole cabin full of people who do just what you're doing now."

" Who are you?" Jaden asked before he could stop himself. " Where am I? Where's my mum?"

" Who am I? I'm Gary Rodgers, son of Apollo. As for where you are; you're in the infirmary of Camp Half-Blood."

Out of all that, Jaden only registered one thing… that Gary had not told him where his mother was. " Where's my mum?" He asked again.

Gary became physically uncomfortable, scratching at the back of his neck and avoiding Jaden's golden eyes. The clock ticked heavily in the silence that followed. Without a second thought, Jaden continued his way out of the bed and, with Peter and George in hand, limped out of the room. It took Gary a little while to figure out what was going on before he was out of the room and chasing after Jaden. The only problem, he quickly found out, was that the seven year old was quite fast when he wanted to be. By the time Gary had caught up with him, he was already at the big pine tree at the border commonly known around camp as Thalia's pine.

" Kid. You can't go past the border. It's dangerous and you're hurt." The son of Apollo said, trying to get Jaden back to the infirmary.

" My name is Jaden. And I'm going to find my mum." The younger boy growled, his gold eyes shining dangerously in the sun.

Little did he know, Jaden had caused quite a commotion with some of the other campers. This was mainly due to the fact that the guard dragon around the tree couldn't figure out if he was friend or foe and so was growling at him with his head tilted to the side. To the surprise of some of the other campers, though, Jaden didn't seem at all phased by the large fire-breathing creature growling behind him. In all honesty, Jaden was petrified of him. But he was more worried about what had happened to his mother at that point than to be scared of a dragon. He could be scared of that after he had found his mother.

With a shake of his head, Jaden turned away from the gathering campers and ran past the border. Behind him he heard muffled sounds of people ordering other people to 'go after him', but he ignored every word that was called to him and ran on. In fact, within a few minutes, Jaden had outrun them all and couldn't hear them by the time he had reached the deserted road. Well… at first glance there _was_ no one there.

Looking around for a second time, trying to figure out which way he should go to find his mother, Jaden's eyes laid themselves on the black dog sitting only a few metres away from him. Its blood red eyes gave off the impression that he was some kind of killer. But it was the urgency in those eyes that made the boy think that he could trust the animal enough to be led to where his mother was. For some strange reason, he had the feeling that the dog knew where his mother was… or at least what had happened to his mother.

" You know where my mother is, don't you?" he asked the dog.

In reply, the dog lowered its head and began walking into the forest. Taking it as a sign that it knew, Jaden followed. In the distance, he could hear Gary calling out to him, trying to get him back to camp. But the black dog ignored the older demigod and continued through the forest. Jaden did the same. There was no way that he was going to go back without finding where his mother was first. And he was almost certain that the people from the night before were lying to him about his mother being in a hospital. He couldn't explain it, but he just knew that something bad had happened to her.

After reaching the tenth tree, the dog sat down. Peering around the large mass of black fur, the blond haired boy found himself face to face with his mother's car. Or what remained of it, anyway. The bonnet and boot had both been forced up upon impact and the car itself was welded around the tree. Bits of glass and metal were littered around the tree and the back door had been ripped off completely. Jaden guessed that that was how the people looking for him had managed to get him out of the car. But what about his mum?

Cautiously, Jaden took a couple of steps towards the car. The dog began whimpering though it remained sitting next to the tenth tree. At the sound, the memory of Digger whimpering after Nanny was laid in her wooden bed in the cemetery emerged from the back of Jaden's mind and he found that unwanted tears had sprung into his eyes. Then he saw it. The dark red stuff on the steering wheel. The car was empty, but he was pretty sure that that red stuff came from his mother's head when she hit it on the steering wheel. But the sight of the blood made his eyes glow gold and he was just able to hear the black dog barking before he was thrown into the past.

_He was in the car again, this time sitting next to himself and without a seatbelt on – something that his mother would never let him do. His past self was inspecting his dog tag. And just like it had in the past, the sword emerged with but a small utter of a word that was etched into one side of the thin sheet of bronze. But that was when he began to feel the things that he hadn't noticed before; the shift of the car and his mother's words._

" _Jaden? Is everything okay back there?" She had called before looking up into the rear view mirror and noticing the sword in his hands. " Oh my God! Jaden, where did you get that? Jaden? Please tell mummy."_

_That was when the car had driven into the tree. It was that first impact that had made his mother hit her head and made him black out. The second, which followed quickly after, was the one that made the car look like it did now. The spirit form of Jaden was whisked to the outside world where it was raining with that second impact, almost like the wind had rushed through the car just to make sure that he was out of it. But now that he was out of the destroyed vehicle, he was able to hear what was going on outside. And the first things he heard were the voices._

" _I think it's over this way!" Someone called._

" _What do you mean it's that way? It clearly came from over here." Another voice called over the first._

" _You're both wrong! It's where the smoke is coming from!" A third and older voice growled._

_Sure enough there was smoke coming from the engine of the car. But all Jaden could do was stare. He was still staring when he fell to his knees in shock. Somehow his mind asked him if these people were going to find him staring at the car wreck, but somehow he knew that they wouldn't see him. It was only now dawning on him that he could travel into the past like some of the cartoon shows he watched, but so far he wasn't liking how it was turning out._

_As expected, the people who had been looking for the crash ran right past him. At first there were three people… and one of them looked like the boy who had been riding the cloud horse back at school. The other two looked younger, maybe Gary's age. But when one of them called out for help, about five others arrived. And one of them looked like he was part horse. It was another one of those weird animal people._

" _Give me the boy." The horse man said. " Mr Rodgers, I want you to come with me. Bring anything that you see him with."_

" _And the mother?" The older boy asked._

" _It's too late for her." Another boy said sounding like Gary._

" _How long has it been already?" _

" _It's been nearly fifteen minutes because _someone_ wanted to go in the other direction!" With that, Gary pointed at a boy with blue eyes, brownish-blond hair and a mischievous grin._

" _Boys! Enough. Is the boy still alive?" the horse man asked._

" _Yes, sir." Gary replied after a few minutes of trying to get to the back seat._

" _Then bring him into the infirmary."_

_Jaden watched, still in shock, as the boys tried to get the car door off its hinges so that they could get him into the infirmary. But the sound of a dog growling began to penetrate the air. At first, Jaden thought that the growl was from an animal around those working in the past. But the sound of his name being called made him realise that he was returning to the present._

With another jerk of the wind, Jaden woke to find himself on his knees and staring at the empty ruins of his mother's car.

" Jaden! Where are you? It's dangerous out here!" Gary's voice called out.

The black dog was now standing next to the tree, but he was still growling. It almost seemed like it was protecting Jaden. Feeling sick, Jaden sat on the grass and allowed the tears in his eyes to fall. A few minutes later, the growling stopped and he felt a hand fall gently onto his shoulder. He was vaguely aware of someone calling out to someone else, probably to tell them that he had been found, before he was picked up by strong arms and carried back to the infirmary.

He didn't know it, but from that day on Jaden Castellan was going to have to live in a world that thought of him as a threat.

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**Please do tell me what you think of this. I'm having serious doubts about this and am thinking of deleting it. If you don't think I should, then please tell me that I'm naughty for even thinking such a thing.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Okay, guys. From now on (and because of a request to keep this story going) the chapters won't have dates or begin with the word 'the'. Those were merely acting as stepping stone kind of things for when Jaden got to Camp Half-Blood. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

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**Chapter 5:**

**_Meeting The Campers_**

It had been a week since Gary had found Jaden at the site of the car accident that the younger boy was sure he was the cause of. Not once had the seven year old said anything. Both Gary and the man in the wheelchair, Mr Chiron, visited him regularly, either trying to get him to talk or else just building block structures or doing puzzles with him. He liked the puzzles they had, especially the ones with the dragons and dogs. Occasionally, Gary would introduce one of the younger kids to him and they would silently play together. But, in the end, no one could get a word out of him and they all ended up leaving.

Mr Chiron was with Jaden again, but this time he was trying to explain that he was now in a camp for people who were half god. Jaden just stared at him blankly for a few seconds before going back to the tower he was building. That was when Mr Chiron got an idea and used Jaden's tower to explain that the Greek gods (or rather people who had super powers and can live forever) lived in a golden city (here he picked up a yellow block and held it above the tower) called Olympus high in the clouds above the Empire State Building.

At this explanation, Jaden slowly began to understand. Or at least he understood that there really were people on the planet who had super powers like Superman and Buzz Lightyear. However, being selectively mute, he couldn't find the words to ask if his favourite super heroes really were real. Somehow, though, he got the feeling that his heroes weren't like Mr Chiron's heroes. Instead, he knocked down the tower and started to make creatures out of them; more specifically a family of dogs. Mr Chiron then proceeded to tell him about monsters and how the bad monsters found the heroes and some of the good monsters as well. He understood this Heroes and Monsters approach.

Once that was done, Mr Chiron played a game with him where Jaden was to make something out of the blocks and he had to guess what the shape was. There turned out to be a lot of birds and dogs that Mr Chiron had guessed right. Though there was the odd horse or monkey that showed up every now and then. Unfortunately, the game ended when a knock was sounded at the door and someone poked their head into the room.

" Chiron. They're ready." The visitor said, sneaking a glance at Jaden and quickly disappearing back behind the door.

" Okay, Jaden. I'm going to take you to meet the other campers today. Hopefully you've been able to make some new friends when Gary introduced you to some of our other campers." Mr Chiron said, wheeling his chair over to where Jaden's suitcase had been placed. He pulled out a clean, light blue shirt and a pair of black shorts and placed them at the end of Jaden's bed. " Now quickly get dressed so we can leave."

Quietly, Jaden did as he was told as soon as Mr Chiron had left the room. But the thought of meeting people who, as Mr Chiron said, had superpowers made him nervous. He was that nervous that, as soon as he was dressed, he climbed back into bed and began building another tower. The look that Mr Chiron gave him when he returned a few minutes later clearly said that the old man did not approve of what he was seeing. Slowly, very slowly so that he didn't have to leave the room too soon, Jaden tore down his tower and piled up the different coloured blocks as Mr Chiron wheeled his chair to the side of the bed.

" Come now, Jaden. I'm sure that it won't be that bad." He said as soothingly as he could.

With a soft sigh, Jaden eased himself off the bed once more and allowed the old man to lead him through the Big House and out to the porch where he could see someone waiting. At first glance, Jaden wasn't sure who this person was. But as they turned, he noticed the familiar pointed nose and slightly crooked smile that could only give off a gentle look on the face of Gary Rodgers. Before he knew what he was doing, Jaden found himself rushing over to the older boy and holding onto his arm as if that would stop them from taking him to the meeting.

" Hey there, Jaden. What're you doing out here?" Gary greeted him lightly.

As usual, Jaden remained silent. But for the first time in a week, he was suddenly engulfed in the need to say something. Unfortunately, his words would not form on his tongue no matter how hard his mind kept on drilling the words into him. So, instead, he looked to Mr Chiron and hid further behind Gary in an attempt to show to the two of them that he did not want to go. What he saw, however, was something that he did not want to ever see again.

Mr Chiron was no longer in his wheelchair. He was a horse man. He was _the_ horse man that had ordered his arrival to the infirmary that fateful day. And if there was one thing his 'flashbacks' taught him about animal men, it was that they were to be feared. Instantly, Jaden pulled away from the horse man and, after letting go of Gary's arm, ran into the farthest, darkest, most hidden corner that he thought would protect him from the horse man that was Mr Chiron.

" Jaden?" Gary called in confusion.

" Perhaps it would be best if I talked with the other campers first. I leave Jaden to you, Gary." Mr Chiron sighed, before walking off to wherever the meeting was being held.

With a small nod to the retreating figure that was his mentor, Gary turned to where Jaden was cowering in the corner. Unfortunately, Chiron was going to have to wait a little longer than what he wanted because Jaden looked like he had no wish of leaving that corner. So, as quietly as he could, Gary went over to Jaden and eased himself next to the younger boy.

" So… how's it going?" the son of Apollo asked after a few minutes, trying to lighten Jaden's mood a little.

Jaden merely looked up at Gary trying to figure out if there was something wrong with him or not. But he could not stop the tears from streaming down his face at the thought of everything that had happened in the past week… including what was about to happen. The fear was now too much for him to handle.

" Hey, now. There's nothing to be upset about." Gary said, wiping away the tears. " Come on. I'll introduce you and then we can come right back here and maybe watch a movie, okay?"

An answer came in the form of a quick shake of the head.

" Listen. No one's going to hurt you. And if they even try to, I'll stop them." With these words, Gary lifted the left sleeve of his shirt to reveal an upside-down bronze dagger clipped safely in place by a leather sheath that was tied around the boy's still forming muscles. At the sight of the weapon – so much like the sword that Jaden had called on in his mother's car – Jaden reeled back. But Gary merely sighed and covered his hidden weapon once more. " Do you trust me?"

It took a while for Jaden to comprehend the word. He also tended to stare into Gary's eyes when he did so. His gaze was that intense that Gary had to stop himself from recoiling despite the hurt and scared look that surrounded the golden irises. But after a few minutes of finally believing that Gary would never hurt him, he rubbed his eyes dry and nodded his head. With a soft smile (more out of relief that he was finally starting to gain the boy's trust) Gary got to his feet and helped the boy up on his own before leading him down to the dining pavilion.

They only got as far as the cabins before Jaden noticed the nine year old girl sitting next to the very large fire pit and froze. The reason, aside from the memory of the man in the flying car, the girl by the fire pit was looking at him with a sad expression on her face. Gary turned to look at him, obviously trying to figure out why he had stopped, but it was clear that Jaden wasn't going to move. When he turned to the fire pit and noticed the girl, he seemed to realise what the problem was. And he knew that if he left Jaden alone, even for a moment, he would run.

" Jaden, It's okay." Gary reassured the smaller boy. " This is Lady Hestia. She gives us hope and makes sure that everyone is safe at night when we're asleep in our cabins."

Unfortunately, Jaden didn't seem to register what Gary was saying. The only thing that he was sure about was that his night time protector, his mother, was no longer able to protect him and no one was going to take that place. This also meant that no one was going to be able to change his mind. It was another five minutes before Gary was able to convince Jaden that Hestia was one of the super heroes that Mr Chiron had been talking about. But Mr Chiron's name alone brought forth the memory of him turning into a horse man and made Jaden refuse to move once more.

" Come on, Jaden. We're late." Gary sighed for what felt like the tenth time in less than ten minutes.

Jaden still refused to move.

" Trust me. No one is going to hurt you. I'll make sure that no one hurts you."

Finally Jaden moved… but it was only to look up at Gary, tears once more streaming his eyes. With a sigh, Gary knelt in front of Jaden and turned his soft blue eyes to the frightened golden ones before him.

" Listen to me, Jaden. No one is going to hurt you. They just want to say hi. And once we've said hi to everyone, then we can go back to the Big House and watch a movie, okay?"

Slowly, Jaden nodded his head. But he froze once more when he saw someone walking up behind Gary. It was obvious that the person was a young woman. And it was clear that she was slightly angry with Gary for being late. At least, her eyes betrayed that slight annoyance. The look on her face, especially when she saw Jaden, clearly showed that she was either shocked or slightly frightened. But she merely swallowed whatever emotion was inside her as she stopped right behind Gary and cleared her throat, making the older boy hurry to his feet in shock.

" Andi! Hi!" Gary exclaimed in a high pitched voice.

" Hello, Gary. I've come to get you." The girl said. " Chiron seems to think that you two got lost on your way to the meeting."

" Not lost. Scared." Gary then turned to face a still frightened Jaden and sighed. " And thanks to you, we're going to be a little while longer."

" We're getting restless in there, you know."

" I can only do so much with him. He's a seven year old who just lost his mother."

" There are a lot of people here who don't have mothers. You included."

" My mum has nothing to do with this. At least I know she's still alive despite where she is… again."

" Whatever. I'll tell Chiron that you got this far." Andi sighed, turning back the way she came and running off.

" You do that." Gary told the retreating figure. He then turned to Jaden. " That was my older sister. For some reason she doesn't like me. Oh well. Not everyone's like her. Come on. Let's get going."

Jaden looked up at the older boy and, with a slight surprise to Gary, nodded his head and took his hand. He wanted to watch a movie. And if seeing all these people was what it meant to watch a movie, then he was going to do just that. He just had to walk around the fire pit with the sad girl. With a deep breath from Jaden, Gary continued to lead the seven year old to the dining pavilion where the meeting was being held (the rec room was too small to fit the entire camp in it).

When they got there, the first thing that Jaden noticed was that there was pretty much someone sitting at every table. He also noticed that Mr Chiron was standing in front of everyone. But that wasn't what made Jaden hide behind Gary. What was was that there were about twenty or so goat men… one of which was the one who had called to the hurricane boy.

" Please don't turn me into a tree." Jaden pleaded softly from behind Gary's legs.

All talk stopped instantly despite the soft plea. Everyone turned to face the week long silent boy. No one moved even an inch for quite a few minutes. Gary was the first to break free from the trance, kneeling down and wrapping his arms protectively around the smaller boy's shoulders.

" Jaden?" the son of Apollo asked as gently as he could.

" The animal men… they'll… they'll turn me into a tree like they did to the big golden eyed man. They'll turn me into a tree because I have golden eyes too."

" No they won't. They're harmless."

" No they're not. They've got those wood flute things. That's how they turned that golden eyed man into a tree."

But the rumours had already spread. And so too had the fears. More than one person still in camp but old enough to have fought in the Titan War rose from their seats, hands on their weapons. Andi was one of those, gripping her knives tightly despite only just having seen the boy. And, as Gary had told Jaden back at the Big House, the second he saw someone reach for their weapon, he unsheathed his hidden dagger and rose to face the rest of the camp.

" No one touches him!" He growled, his voice deepening into his adult voice.

" He's got Kronos written all over him!" one of the older kids growled back.

" So what? Hazel Levesque's got golden eyes and she's a daughter of Hades' Roman form!"

" But this is different." One of the older mentors, a famous son of Poseidon, said. " Hazel died during the Second World War and was resurrected. This kid… well, he really does look like Kronos."

" Forget that!" The leader of the Hermes cabin screamed out. " He looks like _him_!"

" Looks like who, Griffin?" Andi's tight voice called over the exclamations that quickly followed this statement.

" My older brother. The one who loved Artemis' Lieutenant… before his betrayal. The one who housed the Titan Lord. Luke Castellan."

Luke Castellan. That name was the trigger to a brilliant flash of gold. And there was only one person within the entire throng of demigods that was affected by the sudden flash of gold. Mere seconds after Griffin had spoken Luke's name, Jaden's mind pulled forth a memory of blue eyes and a deep scar down the side of someone's face. And the memories of his mother explaining who his father was weren't far in following. Instantly, Jaden was able to piece together that this Luke Castellan that the campers were talking about was, in fact, his father. But somehow he managed to pull from time into the dining pavilion the memory of a young girl begging her lover to stay and help her name the child in her arms. The only one that gave Jaden his name.

But just as quickly as it had happened, it was over. For a few seconds no one did anything. They were still trying to figure out what had just happened. And Gary, thought trying to sort out his confusion as well, was focussing more on those with weapons. He was still trying to make sure that no one attacked his young friend. So it was that no one noticed when Jaden began swaying on the spot until he was already falling.

" Gary!" One of the daughters of Nemesis called out, alerting him to Jaden's collapse.

" Jaden!" Gary exclaimed as he dropped his dagger and was just able to catch the boy before his head hit the ground.

There wasn't much that Jaden could make sense of as he fell; only that for the first time, even if it was only a memory of the day he was born, he had gotten to see and hear his father. but there was only one small word that managed to escapes his lips as he felt strong arms wrap around his tired body, " Daddy."


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry this took a couple of months, guys. I had troubles thinking about what to write and how to make it work. Hopefully you like it.**

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**Gaining Trust – Chapter 6:**

_**Outsider**_

Almost as soon as Jaden was declared unconscious, Chiron ordered someone to get the boy a blanket and a pillow. This alone caused an uproar amongst the campers until the same daughter of Nemesis who had called out to Gary, Rachel Griffith, returned from her cabin with her own pillow and blanket. Of course, the blanket was at least twice the size of the boy. But Gary merely wrapped the blanket over Jaden, using it as both a sheet and a cover.

" Why are you defending him?" One of the Ares kids asked.

" Why are you trying to kill him?" Gary retaliated, his voice a growl.

" He's the son of Kronos!"

" He's the son of Luke Castellan!" One of the Hermes kids growled.

" He's the son of a traitor!" A child of Hecate called out.

" Like you weren't!" Rachel Griffith growled back.

" He's the son of a hero."

Silence fell as all eyes turned to the Apollo table. Andi, who really couldn't make up her mind about whether or not Jaden was friend or foe, was once more sitting down and trying to work her own mind through the dilemma before her. She had seen images of Luke before; and if she concentrated hard enough, she was able to remember glimpses of him from before his betrayal when she had first crossed over the border when she herself was seven. But nothing could have been stronger than the aftermath of the battle where everyone was told of Luke's final deed – the one that marked him a hero in the end.

" A hero?" Jaden's small voice asked as he began to wake up. " You mean like Balto?"

" Balto the sled dog?" someone asked quietly.

Jaden didn't reply at first. He was more focused on trying to get up, instead. Only with Gary's help did he manage to sit up and look around at the many faces of the other campers. They scared him – especially the ones with their weapons still drawn – it was clear on his face. But he tried to put on a brave face for them despite knowing that it probably wasn't going to work. Unfortunately, these people were trained fighters, not Timothy McHales.

" Was he brave?" Jaden asked, ignoring the camper's question.

" Yes. Yes he was." The son of Poseidon said after a few minutes of thought.

With that thought, Jaden looked down at his dog tag. He still feared it. He still blamed it for the death of his mother. But it had been given to him by his father. Maybe not directly, but still. The only things he ever remembered receiving were George, Peter and his dog tag. And he had had them all his life. Which had to mean something, right? These people seemed to really hate his father, and they seemed to be willing to hate him. So what had his father done to make everyone afraid of or angry at his son?

Without realising, he had quickly reverted to his mute tendencies. Campers spoke to him and asked him questions, each time expecting an answer, but he remained staring at his dog tag. The goat-men tried to talk to him and prove to him that they were harmless, but the instant they moved toward him, Jaden edged just that little bit further into Gary. Gary and Chiron were exchanging worried glances with each other and trying to work out the best way to get Jaden out of his shell again, preferably with less frightened effects.

But it was the other adult – the young Hawaiian Santa man with the bored look on his face and the diet coke – which scared Jaden. There was just something in his eyes that, when Jaden had noticed him before looking at his dog tag, made the boy remember the man in the flying car. Something that should not be trusted about him or the things he had or may have done. Something beyond anything that Jaden had ever dreamed about. This man was dangerous. And there was no doubt that if Digger were with Jaden at that moment, the old dog would be barking his head off at the man and otherwise trying to protect him.

" I think it would be best if Jaden were taken back up to the Big House. If you would do the honours, Mr Rodgers?" Mr Chiron's voice penetrated the silence of Jaden's petrified mind.

" Come on, Jaden. Let's go watch that movie. You deserve it." Gary said, after giving a small nod to the centaur.

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Four days had passed since Jaden had met the other campers and he refused to leave the Big House. Gary was now the only one to go and see him and try to coax him out into the rest of the camp. Mr Chiron was careful to be in his wheelchair around the boy, though Jaden made sure that he only saw him at meal times. Other than that, Jaden always kept to himself and played with his small gathering of toys.

Occasionally, Gary would try to introduce him to some of his friends. The daughter of Nemesis, Rachel, seemed to think he was cute – though he wasn't pleased by this latest discovery – and seemed to show up on a regular basis. Jaden was almost tempted to go back out into the camp just to get away from the fourteen year old. Of course, whenever he looked out the window and noticed the Aphrodite campers, he decided to rethink those thoughts.

Another regular was a seven year old son of Hecate named Tristan who seemed to be his only friend from before the meeting and that was around his age. In fact, Tristan was the only one who Jaden was comfortable enough with to let him play with Peter and George. Together the four of them (Peter and George included) always ended up playing Superheroes, with the boys being the superheroes and the toys either being the trusty sidekicks or the ones in trouble. But that afternoon, Tristan had entered the room jumping up and down about something going on somewhere in the camp. Before Jaden had time to protest, Tristan had grabbed his arm and was dragging him out of the Big House.

" Tristan, wait! What's going on?" Jaden asked.

" I don't know but it has something to do with Lord Hermes and Mr Chiron." The other boy replied excitedly. " They were at the beach."

There was nothing Jaden could do as the son of Hecate dragged him through the cabin area. In fact, he seemed to become more determined every time the blond boy struggled to break free of his grasp. Only one thing was certain, though. Every pair of eyes in and around every cabin had practically glued themselves to the two boys running towards the beach. And each pair seemed as cold and untrustworthy as the old tom cat that lived in the alley way next to his mother's old apartment block. Just thinking about the cat made Jaden's lower back tingle where the cat had scratched him one day, but that may have also been because of the scary feeling that he was about to get himself into trouble. And he hated being in trouble.

" So, the little brat's finally showed himself, hey?" A rough voice growled from behind Jaden.

Instantly both boys stopped and slowly turned around. Standing behind them were three rather strong-looking teenagers. And the dark looks on their faces reminded Jaden a little bit of Timothy McHales. In other words, they were the camp bullies. The boy in the lead had an almost kind, deceiving face and blond hair. He wore all black, except for his right arm which was torn off at the shoulder, and his bronze sword was slung over his shoulder like some anime character. As the younger boys watched, he folded his arms, the two behind him following his example.

" Leave us alone, Magnar." Tristan said, trying to be brave but not managing to keep the fear out of his voice. Jaden, however, hid his emotions under the mask that he reserved solely for Timothy.

" Oh, look. He's scared." The blond cooed in mock laughter. " Good. That's the way things should be. Now go run off to your cabin like the scared little boy you are." With that, Magnar shoved Tristan to the ground.

Jaden watched the tears begin to spring in Tristan's eyes and heard the laughter of the three teenagers. He knew from experience that Tristan was a strong boy purely and simply because the two of them would run into things all the time while they played. Tristan wasn't one to go crying to an adult if he ran into a wall and managed to knock himself dizzy. He was one to laugh that kind of thing off. Seeing him like that now, though, made something burst inside of Jaden that he had thought he'd only feel whenever his mother was being bullied.

" Leave him alone." He growled, stepping in front of his friend.

" Now you listen to me, you little brat. You do not fight against people you know you can't win against. You _will _get killed. So just turn around and go back to your cabin. Oh, wait. That's right. You don't have one." Magnar bent over and poked Jaden square in the chest. " You'll be doing us all a favour if you just leave now, son of Kronos. Now get lost."

" That's enough, Magnar. Leave the kid alone." Another boy called out from the red cabin.

" Are you getting soft now, Conrad? Should I show you what we do to soft siblings?"

" I'm not getting soft, Magnar."

" It certainly sounds like it." The boy behind Magnar whispered.

" I'm just giving you a warning. You touch the brat and you will get Rodgers on your back. And I'm sure you don't want an arrow in your back as well as a dagger at your throat."

" Rodgers has nothing against me." Magnar hissed.

" Perhaps not before, but you can see in his eyes that he's changed now. You saw what he was like last week. He's acting like the brat's his little brother or something."

" I am not a brat!" Jaden roared, jumping on Magnar's foot as hard as he could before head butting his stomach.

During the exchange between the older boys, Tristan had gotten up and whispered into Jaden's ear that the four teenagers (including the boy named Conrad) were all children of Ares, the war god. He had also explained that the Ares cabin were the bullies of camp, which Jaden had easily guessed. The two boys then thought of a plan of escape from the bullies.

Once Jaden had shook his head clear after head butting Magnar, he grabbed Tristan's wrist and dragged him along behind him and towards the dinning pavilion. He knew that the two of them needed to get away from the cabin area. And it had turned out that he was the faster of the two of them. But as they ran from the enraged son of Ares, Jaden knew something else; He may never get accepted into the camp unless he could show the others that he could be trusted.

He was, plain and simply, an outsider.


	8. Chapter 7

**Wow. I am so not keeping up to my promise to get things going faster. I'm sorry,guys. I really am. I hope you like this chapter anyway.**

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**Gaining Trust – Chapter 7:**

_**Grandpa Hermes**_

As soon as the boys reached the dining pavilion, Jaden ducked under the nearest purple and white table cloth. Hearts pounding in their chests, they waited for the danger to pass. Voices could be heard beyond the table cloth. Angry voices. Still the boys remained hidden. Finally, after about ten minutes of hiding and relative silence, the boys emerged from their hiding place.

" Think we lost them?" Jaden asked almost as soon as the table cloth had fallen back into place.

" I think so." Tristan replied.

Silence was quick to follow as the boys looked around just to make sure. When they couldn't find anyone other than themselves, they turned back to each other.

" You really are fast." Tristan remarked, breaking the silence.

" I guess." Jaden replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

" You know, you boys are late." A strange voice called from behind the two seven year olds. Instantly, the boys turned around thinking that one of the Ares kids was behind them. Instead, they came face to face with a scruffy, black haired twenty-year-old. " Chiron's been looking for you."

" Oh, hey, Lee." Tristan said softly with a shy smile on his face. " We thought you were Magnar."

" Well, I'm definitely not Magnar. So you're safe. Though he did come by looking for you a few minutes ago."

" You didn't…"

Lee laughed, beginning to herd the two boys down to the beach. " No, Tristan. I didn't say anything. I just told him to go fight some of the dummies in the arena to calm down. Now, what was he after you for?"

" Jaden was protecting me from him. He head butted him and jumped on his foot. Then we ran off and hid."

" Sounds to me like you're quite a friend, Jaden; sticking up to the bullies. Keep it up."

" You're not angry with me?" Jaden asked, confused about why the young man was smiling at him when everyone else was angry at him.

" Why should I be? You're you, Jaden. You're not your father. People shouldn't treat you like him. I may have only heard the stories about your father, including all the things he did, but I already know that you will never be like him. You're still young. There's no telling what kind of person you'll be when you grow up."

" How do you know?"

" I know exactly what it's like, not being trusted. When I was young, people were afraid of me and my dad because we could turn into wolves. When I came here, people were still afraid of me. I'm still trying to get people to like me for who I am. I'm still an outsider, like you. But the others will see. You just have to give each other time to get to know each other."

" Can you still turn into a wolf?" Tristan butted in, despite having already heard the story.

" Not anymore, boys. Not anymore."

" How come you could turn into a wolf?" Jaden asked.

" Well…" And with that, Lee gave the boys the extremely shortened version of the story about the wolf of Camp Half-Blood. Before they knew it, the three of them were at the beach and standing in front of Chiron the centaur. And, because he was so wrapped up in Lee's story, Jaden didn't even seem to notice. " And that's what happened to the wolf of Camp Half-blood. Now I'll leave you two with Chiron and go sit on the docks for when you finish. Okay?"

After receiving a nod from both the boys, Lee turned to the centaur. Once he was dismissed from his task, he bowed low and retreated to the docks like he said he would. Jaden watched him leave before turning to his friend. Tristan, however, was on the ground kneeling to the man who was standing with Chiron.

" Hello, boys. Having a tough day, are we?" the man asked.

" I just want to know why there are bullies everywhere." Jaden sighed in reply.

" Can't say for sure. But I'll tell you what, Jaden, your uncles, Travis and Connor, know a few good _tricks_ to deal with Ares' kids."

At that point, Jaden looked up at the man that was beside Mr Chiron. He had black hair that was greying and, Jaden noticed, he had the same blue eyes that his mother had always told him about; the ones that belonged to his father. In fact, the first thing he thought was that this man was his father, but the small smile on the man's face made him think twice about that idea.

But all the boy could get out of his mouth was the simple, " How do you know my name?"

The man's smile widened but the look of pure horror on Tristan's face wasn't easily unnoticed.

" Jaden. That's Lord Hermes. You shouldn't talk to him like that. He's a god." The son of Hecate gasped.

" It's alright, son of Hecate. He still doesn't understand." Hermes replied before turning back to face Jaden. " Jaden Castellan… you look so much like your father."

" You know my dad?"

" He was my son. And because of that, I want you to know that you will always have a place in my cabin. Remember that I am always watching over you. There may be times where you may not believe it, but I will be. And so will your father."

" Lord Hermes. Are you sure about this. The other campers…" Chiron started.

" The other campers will have to learn, won't they?"

With that, the god began to glow. At that exact moment, Tristan tackled Jaden to the ground. The next thing that the grandson of Hermes knew was that his grandfather was no longer standing in front of him and that the centaur was trotting back to the Big House. But even with Tristan helping him up and explaining why you can't look at a god when they start to glow, Jaden was aware of only one thing. If he wanted to know more about his father, he was in the right place.

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**Please let me know if this isn't going as good as what you thought it would. Your feed back is appreciated greatly. **


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